Tutorials

Saturday, 19 November 2016

A sourdough workshop to end the year

Today we had our last Simple Living Toowoomba workshop for 2016 and it was a very informative morning which I am sure was enjoyed by the 30+ people who attended. Chris from Gully Grove very capably presented a much anticipated sourdough workshop.

As I use a different method to make my sourdough because I follow the instructions given by Celia on Fig Jam and Lime Cordial , I found it very interesting to watch how Chris makes hers. She was very organised and brought along her starter to share with everyone and had dough ready to make a loaf as well as a savoury Pull Apart. This was extremely tasty and I would like to make one with the same ingredients and also add garlic and chili. Something else I would like to try if I could get motivated is Savoury Monkey Bread although I would make larger balls which would be less work I would think. That should work in a sourdough version.

First the dough was rolled out and the tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil added...

...before being rolled up into this shape.

Then the scissors came out and the dough was cut every inch or so...

....the shaping was done...

...it was left to rise for an hour...

...then topped with more mozzarella cheese before going in the oven...

...and voila! Twenty minutes later it was ready to pull apart and eat. Absolutely the best Pull Apart I have ever eaten.

Chris also cooked a sourdough loaf....

...which she sat on its side when taken out of the oven to keep the bottom of the loaf crisp. I think that was the reason. If not Chris will correct that I am sure.

While the cooking was happening Chris explained about how to feed the starter and how to knead and some willing helpers had a try at doing that.

So we finished off eating the Pull Aparts as well as some buns she had made before hand.

Chris has more information about making sourdough on her blog so check out this page if you would like to learn more.

It was a great workshop to finish off the year. The Simple Living Toowoomba workshops will start again in February and we hope to have some more interesting guest speakers present workshops. In the mean time check out the blog which Racheal is looking after as she is writing some great articles there and the last one is called Gluten Free in Toowoomba. She and her hubby have also started up the Birdsong Market Garden and she has some interesting articles on her blog there as well.

What a great workshop Chel and thanks for the links to Chris' blog for more info. I also follow the Fig Jam and Lime Cordial method for my sourdough, but I love to read all the information I can get my hands on regarding different methods. I can't wait to try making that loaf with the fillings. Now if only we could organize community workshops like yours down here in the Barossa.

It was great to finally meet you Chel, and everyone at the group was so friendly and inviting. You did get the meaning behind laying the bread on its side, to keep it from going soggy on the base. Makes it easier to cut and hold it's shape.

I finally got to see what a Monkey loaf looks like, after visiting your link. I can't say I've seen one of those before, but there are always new innovations in the bread making department. I also enjoyed reading the link to the TSL Gluten Free article. Nice to see some local suppliers in our area.

What a good workshop. I am about to follow the link. Sourdough really interests me. I see fancy bread sold for a lot i.e. $8 a loaf. I am intimidated by the starter so I need to overcome that. I have a dodgy arm so hope the dough hook on my mixer will be ok for kneading. Very inspiring thank you Nanna Chel.xxx

Annabel, it isn't hard to make sourdough. I haven't used the same method Chris uses as yet but have been using the Basic Sourdough Tutorial https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2013/02/11/bread-101-a-basic-sourdough-tutorial/ on Celia's blog. She shows each step which is easy to follow. When Chris has time she will do a basic tutorial for us as well. Celia hardly kneads when using her method. There are several ways of making sourdough so see what works for you.

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